Over 4,000 miles, he's out to inspire

Billerica native living with MS plans trek from Florida to Maine

Yaakov Reef, a Billerica native, is trying to hike all the way from Florida to Maine on the Eastern Continental Trail. Here s a past photo of him on Mount Race in western Massachusetts. COURTESY PHOTO

BILLERICA -- It was just last summer when Yaakov Reef spent several days unable to walk.

When the Billerica native could finally get going, it was only with the help of forearm crutches.

Now Reef, who has struggled for several years with neurological symptoms as a result of multiple sclerosis, will try to complete a "hardcore pilgrimage" to inspire others.

Reef, 31, is attempting to hike more than 4,000 miles of trails from Florida to Maine over the next 10 months. The 4,200 mile hike on the Eastern Continental Trail includes the entire Appalachian Trail.

"Thankfully, I don't have any active (MS) symptoms and am healthy, so now is a good time for this journey," Reef said.

Yaakov Reef. COURTESY PHOTO

"Exercise and muscle strengthening are two of the most important parts of a healthy lifestyle with MS. I get both with hiking."

But hiking for 10 months is no easy task for anyone.

Reef's longest-ever hike has been two weeks, so a hike from Florida to Maine will be quite the increase. However, Reef -- who became interested in hiking as a 13-year-old at Great Brook Farm State Park in Carlisle -- says he's optimistic he'll make it all the way.

"When people ask me about it, I tell them that two weeks was harder to do than plan for this, because I couldn't do a resupply for those two weeks," said Reef, who lived in Billerica until he was 21. "This journey is really planning a number of 5- to 7-day backpacking trips, and stringing them all together at once.

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Every five days along the trail, Reef plans on restocking his food supply with mostly dehydrated vegetarian items. There will be food and equipment drop boxes at trail towns.

He'll also be carrying Aquamira, a water-treating chemical to purify water along the way.

Reef's plan is to start with 5 to 10 miles each day, building up his legs before he makes it to the Appalachian Trail. When it's flat enough, he plans on hiking 15 to 20 miles per day.

"It's incredible that he's going to spend all that time on the trails," said his brother, Fred Perry. "It's nothing I could ever do. Tens months is just amazing dedication.

"When we were younger, he was gung-ho about going hiking all the time, so there were signs he would someday do this," he added.

In the end, Reef, a rabbi who most recently worked as a retreat manager at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Connecticut, hopes the journey inspires others to take on challenges in their lives.

He plans to publish a book about his ultra-hike.

"I'm most excited about sharing my own stories of being on the trail and helping others start their own pilgrimage, wherever it may take them," Reef said. "I want to inspire others to take on the big things in their lives that they think they can't accomplish."

Reef -- who attended Ditson Elementary School, Hajjar Elementary School and then Marshall Middle School before being home-schooled in high school -- will head to Florida on Wednesday and hopes to make it to Maine by October.

His brother and others will be able to track him on a mobile app during the journey. Fred said he plans to join his brother for parts of the hike, as will Nannene Gowdy, who once served as minister at First Parish Church in Billerica.

"Wow, it's going to be quite a trek for him," said Gowdy, one of Reef's hiking friends, and his first spiritual/life mentor. "There are going to be some tough times for him along the way, but his enthusiasm for life is going to get him through it. He has the determination."

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